Chapter 79 Ty #2
“Of course.” This was the perfect time to show Liza what I’d done for her. I hoped I hadn’t made a mistake. Maybe I should’ve waited and asked for her input. Oh well, it was too late now. All I could do was hope she’d like it.
The cemetery was quiet at that time of day, with only a few people visiting the dead. We pulled up near the gravesites, and as Liza stepped out of the car, she saw the surprise I’d prepared. Her parents’ graves now bore new headstones with their real names engraved into the stone.
JOSEF WYLDE. PORTIA WYLDE.
“Ty...” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “You did this?”
I nodded, wrapping my arms around her as she sobbed into my chest. “Nobody deserves to be forgotten. Everyone should have their names. Your parents didn’t deserve to be forgotten, and they sure as hell should have their true names on their memorial.
” When I’d ordered the headstones, I was trying to right a wrong, to commemorate a pack that had been wiped out.
I hadn’t realized how important it was for her.
“Thank you.” Liza slowly composed herself and pulled away, turning to examine the matching marble stones. She traced her finger across each name. As she wiped the tears from her cheeks, I took a step back, giving her some space to be alone with her parents.
Liza knelt by the graves, plucking a few weeds that had already sprouted near the headstones.
She tucked her legs under her, talking softly.
Though I couldn’t hear what she was saying, I knew those moments were important to her, and I watched from a distance, guarding her as she reconnected with her lost past, sending my own message to the long-gone couple, promising I’d do everything I could to protect their daughter.
After a while, Liza rose and walked over to me, taking my hand in hers without a word.
“Ready to go home?” I asked gently.
She gave a quick nod.
Liza seemed to have found solace after visiting her parents’ graves. She seemed more at peace, and I sensed a new calmness in her demeanor. Just as I went to shift the car into drive, she placed her hand on mine, stopping me.
“Wait.” Her tear-filled eyes met mine. “I want to open the letter now.”
“Are you sure?” I wanted to make certain she was ready for whatever the contents might reveal.
She gave a nod, her hands trembling as she reached into her bag to retrieve the envelope. She tucked her finger into the back flap of it and dragged her finger along, breaking the seal. As she unfolded the letter, she frowned and bit her lip. “Ty, look at this.”
Puzzled, I took the letter from her. Of course, it wouldn’t be simple.
The letter was written in code. There were numbers and random words scattered throughout, some even in Russian Cyrillic.
Without the cipher, it was impossible to decode.
And the bizarre thing was that the letter was written from top to bottom, not left to right.
“Ugh, why do I feel like I’m living in a James Bond movie?” Liza banged her head against the seat, clearly frustrated. “We have to figure out riddles just to catch the bad guy, and now we have to decipher a code to understand my parents’ message from beyond the grave. Fuck.”
I laughed and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. “Don’t worry. I know a guy who might be able to help.”
“As far as I’m concerned, those could just be random squiggles on a piece of paper. You’re sure he’ll be able to work it out? Can we take the letter to him now?” Liza glanced at her watch, and her eyes filled with hope. “Think he’d see you on such short notice?”
“Oh, yeah. Zephyr is used to my sporadic visits. Let’s go.”
I drove straight to Zephyr’s computer repair shop. As we stepped out of the car, Liza raised an eyebrow and pointed to the strip mall. “This is where your genius works? I expected something a little more ominous, like a hollowed-out cave in the side of a rocky cliff.”
I chuckled and took her hand. “Zephyr doesn’t want people to know about his superpowers.”
“And what, exactly, are his powers?” Liza giggled. “According to the sign, all he does is repair computers.”
“Oh, my dear, he does so much more than that. Zephyr is a fucking genius. He can break through firewalls, hack any electronic communication you can think of, and I’m fairly certain he can decipher this letter.”
Said genius was at the front desk, talking to a mom and her pre-teen son, who was having issues with his gaming console.
“Mom, I swear I didn’t do anything,” the boy pleaded, looking desperate. “One minute it was working fine, and the next... it just froze.”
“Did you try turning it off and on again?” Zephyr asked, trying to keep a straight face.
“Of course,” the boy said, rolling his eyes with all the attitude of childhood. “I’m not an amateur.”
Zephyr glanced up and caught sight of us, his eyes widening in surprise.
He quickly turned back to his customers, stopped teasing the kid, and assured them he’d diagnose the problem and call them by the end of business the next day.
Once they’d left, Zephyr approached us, curiosity radiating off him.
“Ty, what’s wrong now?” he asked, clearly concerned. He turned to Liza. “I’m assuming this is the Mrs.?”
I nodded. “Zephyr, this is Liza. Liza, Zephyr.”
“Nice to meet you.” Zephyr extended his hand to Liza. “So, what can I do for you two?”
Liza handed Zephyr the coded letter. “This is a letter my parents left for me in a security deposit box. I don’t know what it says, but Ty seems to think you can figure it out.”
Zephyr whistled as he scanned the letter, his eyes darting between us and the mysterious note.
“Wow, this is definitely an interesting code.” He ran his fingers over the strange characters. “I’ll do my best to decipher it.”
“Please, make it your top priority.” I pulled my phone from my back pocket and sent him a hefty advance to his bank account to motivate him. It was crucial we got this figured out swiftly.
Zephyr’s own device made a notification sound. When he checked it, he gave me a crooked smile and saluted me. “Thanks, boss. It’s officially number one on my to-do list. I’ll call you as soon as I break the code.”
When we left the shop, Liza seemed troubled. “Do you really think Zephyr can figure it out?”
“Trust me.” I squeezed her hand. “If Zephyr can’t crack this code, no one can.”